Political spectrum

BELGRADE - Supporters of the Dveri Movement organised a protest against the government's policy in downtown Belgrade on Saturday and announced protests throughout Serbia with the aim of having early parliamentary elections called by the year's end.

Protesters carried flags and banners with the photo of Russian President Vladimir Putin. No incidents occurred at the gathering.

The National Council of the ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD) elected Labour Minister Rovana Plumb as its chair, in a 807 to 37 vote; she was already one of the party's vice presidents.

Rovana Plumb
Photo credit: (c) Cristian NISTOR / AGERPRES PHOTO

The voting proceeded based on 855 mandates distributed to the delegates; 844 votes were valid and 11 invalidated.

A newly aired tape, containing what appears to be the voice of Prime Minister and VMRO DPMNE party leader Nikola Gruevski, confirms claims that ruling party MPs had to sign blank resignation declarations, which could then be activated if they defected or disobeyed instructions.

BELGRADE - Leader of the Democratic Party (DS) Bojan Pajtic talked on Friday with Tanja Fajon, vice-chair of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, and voiced concern about infringements of media freedom and a low level of political dialogue.

The leader of Turkey's main social democratic party, Kemal K?l?çdaro?lu, has said he has decided to run internal elections in his party before finalizing his candidacy for the upcoming parliamentary elections in order to highlight the meaning of democracy, in a rare move in Turkish politics.

At a press conference in the southeastern town of Strumica on Wednesday, the opposition Social Democratic party, SDSM presented more tapes that point to election fraud on the part of government officials and their associates.

Stevo Pendarovski, the defeated Social Democrat candidate in the 2014 presidential elections, said President Ivanov should return his mandate and quit because he owed his win to the same election tricks that the government had used to win general elections.

The opposition Social Democrats held a press conference on Sunday to reveal a tenth batch of alleged wiretapped conversations, claiming that they show Gruevski's interests in acquiring land for construction land in the capital Skopje and in altering legal permits so that it can be more profitable.

Macedonia's embattled Prime Minister has called a rally of the ruling VMRO DPMNE party in Skopje's Boris Trajkovski sports arena on Sunday when he and other speakers will address opposition demands for the government to resign.

Authorities at Athens University and Athens Law School did not call in the police Friday when some 200 anarchists staged a sit-in at the latter institution. The anarchists took over the Law School in the morning.

Some were carrying wooden clubs and fire extinguishers, according to witnesses. The students and lecturers who were in the building were forced out.